既濟 → 觀
Hexagram 63: After Completion → Hexagram 20: Contemplation
Changing Lines
This transformation involves 3 changing lines (lines 1, 3, 6).
Line 1
初九 曳其輪。濡其尾。无咎。
Nine at the beginning means: He breaks his wheels. He gets his tail in the water. No blame.
Line 3
九三 高宗伐鬼方。三年克之。小人勿用。
Nine in the third place means: The Illustrious Ancestor Disciplines the Devil's Country. After three years he conquers it. Inferior people must not be employed.
Line 6
上六 濡其首。厲。
Six at the top means: He gets his head in the water. Danger.
Trigram Changes
Yilin Verse
結衿流粥，遭讒桎梏。周召述職，身受大福。
Bound at the collar, fed only gruel, slandered and shackled. The Dukes of Zhou and Shao perform their duties; his person receives great blessing.
— Jiao Yanshou, Yilin (Forest of Changes), 1st century BCE
Commentary
Water sits above fire, and a minister distributes gruel while wearing his court robes tied at the collar — yet he is slandered and thrown into chains. Then the Duke of Zhou and Duke of Shao faithfully fulfill their offices, and the imprisoned one receives great blessings. The verse traces the arc of unjust suffering followed by vindication through loyal governance. The image of serving gruel in formal dress suggests selfless duty during famine. From After Completion to Contemplation, fire-and-water order yields to wind moving above the earth — the ruler surveying his domain from on high. Contemplation here restores what slander destroyed: the truth, once observed from the proper vantage, clears the innocent and rewards faithful service.
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